Offroad Trailblazers and Envoys

Reversing UCA's (Pics)

BDS, ReadyLift, Smaxx... You name it, we know about it here.

by JamesDub » Mon Mar 07, 2011 3:33 am

Will flipping them make the upper ball joint mount any closer any closer to the tire ? Probably a dumb question but I have very little clearance to the tire sidewall right now .
The DubMobile is getting a makeover !
User avatar
JamesDub
Member
 
Posts: 71
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 1:41 pm
Location: Madera CA
Name: James
Vehicle Year: 2002
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ Aftermarket Locker
Rank: Offroad Rated

by fishsticks » Mon Mar 07, 2011 3:46 am

JamesDub wrote:Will flipping them make the upper ball joint mount any closer any closer to the tire ? Probably a dumb question but I have very little clearance to the tire sidewall right now .


Negatory. I had very little clearance before I got spacers as well.
11 Silverado LTZ - 6.2L/6l80, 2/3 drop, self tuned
85 Hilux - 3RZ, dual cases, caged, 40s, chromo everything
02 TrailBlazer LTZ - 35s, lockers, balls - Gone but not forgotten - Build
User avatar
fishsticks
Moderator
 
Posts: 4356
Joined: Thu Apr 01, 2010 11:30 pm
Location: WA, Vancouver
Name: Donny
Vehicle Year: Other
Vehicle: Other Vehicle
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ Aftermarket Locker
Rank: Extreme Offroader

by JamesDub » Mon Mar 07, 2011 7:04 am

Thanks for the quick reply :thumleft:
The DubMobile is getting a makeover !
User avatar
JamesDub
Member
 
Posts: 71
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 1:41 pm
Location: Madera CA
Name: James
Vehicle Year: 2002
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ Aftermarket Locker
Rank: Offroad Rated

by janesy86 » Mon Mar 07, 2011 10:32 am

Got an appointment for another alignment today at 3... will post up spec sheet later. Hopefully it goes better today at another location. :viking:
Build Thread
Back to stock, had fun while it lasted...
janesy86
Veteran
 
Posts: 1291
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: MA, Salem
Name: Nick Janes
Vehicle Year: 2007
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ G80
Rank: Offroad Rated

by janesy86 » Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:31 pm

Don't have a camera to get the spec sheet on here but, I'll just list em.

Still don't really get it.. Visually my tires seem to have a good amount of positive camber. According to this Firestone, it was not changed from yesterday and it's dead on.

Toe was way off before, fixed it today...

And caster was unchanged and looks good on the spec sheet, but after looking over Kyle's sheet in the other thread, the shop today changed the range so it looks good. Should be 3.3-4.5 on the left and 3.5-4.7 on the right. I'm at 2.4 left and 2.5 right.

They changed the specs on the sheet for caster to 3.3-1.8 so 'it's in the green'...

And the funny thing is it drives much better tho than it did before I went in at all. I'm going crazy.
Build Thread
Back to stock, had fun while it lasted...
janesy86
Veteran
 
Posts: 1291
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: MA, Salem
Name: Nick Janes
Vehicle Year: 2007
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ G80
Rank: Offroad Rated

by djthumper » Mon Mar 07, 2011 5:55 pm

janesy86 wrote:And the funny thing is it drives much better tho than it did before I went in at all. I'm going crazy.


I don't think that is a very long trip for any of us. :D
User avatar
djthumper
Moderator
 
Posts: 2702
Joined: Wed Mar 24, 2010 6:04 pm
Location: NV, Las Vegas
Name: Larry
Vehicle Year: 2006
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD
Rank: Offroad Rated

by wink » Wed Mar 09, 2011 6:07 pm

This week I flipped the UCA's and added 87 springs. Today I went to Firestone and was told they could not touch it because the truck had been modified. After a little back and forth I took it across the street to a competitor and came out with this:
Image
wink ;>
my build
User avatar
wink
Off-Roader
 
Posts: 175
Joined: Sat Nov 14, 2009 10:02 am
Location: KY, Louisville
Name: Kevin
Vehicle Year: 2006
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD
Rank: Offroad Rated

by lupisnegris77 » Wed Mar 09, 2011 11:25 pm

Flipped UCAs and installed Marks new 3" suspension lift couldn't be happier with the results thanks for all the info all who posted :cheers: And just to add a little more light to the subject i needed no cutting and alignment was good to go. I'll be posting pics of the new lift on the new lift thread tomorrow if anyone wants to check them out. Thanks again yall
Death before Dishonor
Trails Conquered: 23
Repeat Trails: 36
33" warden ats 3" suspension lift
User avatar
lupisnegris77
Off-Roader
 
Posts: 107
Joined: Mon Nov 15, 2010 3:49 pm
Location: Fort Carson, CO
Name: michael brown
Vehicle Year: 2008
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD
Rank: Offroad Rated

by JamesDub » Sat Mar 19, 2011 1:58 am

Flipped the UCAs and new ball joints and marks new lift on my 2" longer japanese coils :D .
Pics to come shortly . Finaly fixed my exhaust manifold leak too .
The DubMobile is getting a makeover !
User avatar
JamesDub
Member
 
Posts: 71
Joined: Tue Nov 16, 2010 1:41 pm
Location: Madera CA
Name: James
Vehicle Year: 2002
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ Aftermarket Locker
Rank: Offroad Rated

by Trail X » Mon Apr 18, 2011 9:00 am

Just to further dog-pile on this thread, here are a couple rather dark pics of mine (I really need better lighting in my garage!).

You can sorta see the areas that had to be notched from the body. Not sure how it could be done without notching the body.

As with many things, be sure to soak the UCA bolts with some penetrating lube a few days ahead of time (soak the threaded portion that's extending into the strut saddle). One of mine wouldn't budge with the crescent wrench, so I had to cut extra in order to clear a socket and breaker bar.

Driver side:
When cutting, watch out for the rubber tubes right behind the wall (seen on the left side). I used a small piece of wood to help protect them.
Image

Passenger side:
Watch out for the washer fluid reservoir, it's rather close.
Image

:mechanic:
8-) Build Thread | ExPo Build | YouTube Videos
Not all who wander are lost. -Tolkien
User avatar
Trail X
Founder
 
Posts: 9935
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 10:22 pm
Location: VA, Roanoke
Name: James Downing
Vehicle Year: 2005
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ Aftermarket Locker
Rank: Expedition Guide

by janesy86 » Mon Apr 18, 2011 10:17 am

Finally jumped on the bandwagon huh!? And FWIW I didn't have to notch the body, it was tight but I got mine off w/o any cutting.
Build Thread
Back to stock, had fun while it lasted...
janesy86
Veteran
 
Posts: 1291
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 2:29 pm
Location: MA, Salem
Name: Nick Janes
Vehicle Year: 2007
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ G80
Rank: Offroad Rated

by Trail X » Mon Apr 18, 2011 12:36 pm

janesy86 wrote:Finally jumped on the bandwagon huh!? And FWIW I didn't have to notch the body, it was tight but I got mine off w/o any cutting.


Wow, after doing it, I don't know if I'd want to try without cutting first. Even with the cuts, it was tight at the end. Plus, I HAD to cut one of them to fit a socket... my adjustable wrench was trying to round off some corners.
8-) Build Thread | ExPo Build | YouTube Videos
Not all who wander are lost. -Tolkien
User avatar
Trail X
Founder
 
Posts: 9935
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 10:22 pm
Location: VA, Roanoke
Name: James Downing
Vehicle Year: 2005
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ Aftermarket Locker
Rank: Expedition Guide

by navigator » Fri May 13, 2011 9:28 am

so hopefully I'll be installing my 2inch rough country lift this weekend.
From what I have read I should go ahead and flip my UCA's to decrease the ball joint angle.
I'm only lifting the 2 inches, no short term plans of going higher.
Outside of having to cut a little fender well are there any negatives to doing this with only the 2 inch lift?
It appears that it doesn't introduce any additional alignment issues.

I just want to confirm before I cut my fender well.
"Please consider a search before posting. Folks on this site PIONEERED functional offroad use of these trucks."
The answer to many common lift questions can be found
here
My Build Thread
User avatar
navigator
Moderator
 
Posts: 4651
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:16 am
Location: NC, Winnabow
Name: Chris
Vehicle Year: 2006
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD
Rank: Trail Ready

by bgwolfpack » Fri May 13, 2011 5:03 pm

I haven't flipped mine because the RC kit didn't seem to change the joint angle at all. Remember most have done this after going beyond the standard kit or after adding the stiffer numbered front springs. This I think is more a quick fix to the geometry and alignment problems some have had rather then a mod needed for all.
bgwolfpack
Veteran
 
Posts: 1794
Joined: Fri Sep 18, 2009 7:19 pm
Name: Randy
Vehicle Year: Other
Vehicle: Other Vehicle
DriveTrain: 4WD

by navigator » Fri May 13, 2011 9:32 pm

ok, I might leave mine alone then and see how things go.
"Please consider a search before posting. Folks on this site PIONEERED functional offroad use of these trucks."
The answer to many common lift questions can be found
here
My Build Thread
User avatar
navigator
Moderator
 
Posts: 4651
Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2011 10:16 am
Location: NC, Winnabow
Name: Chris
Vehicle Year: 2006
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD
Rank: Trail Ready

by Stoked » Sun Aug 07, 2011 3:52 pm

Successfully flipped UCAs and aligned! Even added outside spacers to struts. Excellent ride quality.

Image
Image

Image

Image

Image
User avatar
Stoked
Off-Roader
 
Posts: 130
Joined: Mon Oct 18, 2010 10:19 am
Location: Miami, FL
Name: Juan
Vehicle Year: 2006
Vehicle: Other GMT360/370
DriveTrain: AWD
Rank: Offroad Rated

by MrSmithsTB » Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:03 pm

You must be stoked. :raspberry:
back in the saddle
TB BUILD
User avatar
MrSmithsTB
Veteran
 
Posts: 1756
Joined: Thu Sep 10, 2009 2:28 pm
Location: EHT, NJ
Name: Bob
Vehicle Year: 2006
Vehicle: Other GMT360/370
DriveTrain: AWD w/ G80
Rank: Offroad Rated

by Flying Monkey » Sun Aug 07, 2011 7:14 pm

Soon to be doing my flip. Just have to get some new ball joints and have money for alignment ......again.
User avatar
Flying Monkey
Addict
 
Posts: 597
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 3:09 pm
Location: GA, Ringgold
Name: Chris
Vehicle Year: 2004
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD
Rank: Trail Ready

by Trail X » Sun Aug 07, 2011 10:31 pm

Looks real good Juan.

Flying Monkey wrote:Soon to be doing my flip. Just have to get some new ball joints and have money for alignment ......again.


Ball joints are a PITA. Make sure you rent a ball joint press, otherwise I can imagine it to be a nightmare.
8-) Build Thread | ExPo Build | YouTube Videos
Not all who wander are lost. -Tolkien
User avatar
Trail X
Founder
 
Posts: 9935
Joined: Mon Sep 07, 2009 10:22 pm
Location: VA, Roanoke
Name: James Downing
Vehicle Year: 2005
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD w/ Aftermarket Locker
Rank: Expedition Guide

by Flying Monkey » Sun Aug 07, 2011 10:51 pm

JamesDowning wrote:Looks real good Juan.

Flying Monkey wrote:Soon to be doing my flip. Just have to get some new ball joints and have money for alignment ......again.


Ball joints are a PITA. Make sure you rent a ball joint press, otherwise I can imagine it to be a nightmare.



Yeah while i had front end apart fixing CV Boot the other day I was checking them out since I had to undo the UCA from ball joint....look easy to get out (BFH) but seating new ones back in could be trouble
User avatar
Flying Monkey
Addict
 
Posts: 597
Joined: Wed Apr 13, 2011 3:09 pm
Location: GA, Ringgold
Name: Chris
Vehicle Year: 2004
Vehicle: Chevrolet TrailBlazer
DriveTrain: 4WD
Rank: Trail Ready

PreviousNext

Return to Lifts / Suspension